A car gives you independence. When you got your driver's license it released you from relying on someone else to drive. It still does. A car lets you leave your bullshit and go wherever you damn please. Even if it's just driving to work, a vehicle gives you the ability to have a job that's farther than walking distance from your home.

The June/July issue cover is so ridiculously hot I needed gloves to pick it up. Gav Omaha, NE I'll be the first to admit that your covers are sometimes ahead of the pack on racy imagery, but I'll commend you all on your honesty and pride for the culture that is tattoos.

Name: Patriciana Tenicela Occupation: retail sales associate Hometown: Silver Spring, MD "My first tattoo is of a snake wrapped around a candy apple on my right side; it's my own modern take on Adam and Eve. It represents resisting temptation and staying poison-free.

Before the horn on the NBA finals season blew—hell, before the season started—Jason Terry went under the buzz of a tattoo machine to get the NBA championship trophy inked on his biceps. "It will hurt worse if I have to take this thing off than it did putting it on," he told Yahoo!

A sip of a Sazerac and you're on the crazy streets of New Orleans, a pint of Guinness and wherever you are feels like Ireland, a swill of Coors Light and you taste the Rockies—for better or worse. But what about rum? The stuff never really meant much to me; in the early days of college it was what girls drank.

Comic book guy Jim Mahfood has found a new vehicle for his amazing art.

Industry

[no value]

Object

[no value]

Creator

Kara Pound

Teaser

"I was a hard-core fanboy collector as a kid," St. Louis-born, Los Angeles-based artist John Mahfood (a.k.a. Food One) explains. "I read comic books and that was kind of my introduction to art." By 15, Mahfood was already pursuing a career in comics and mastering his signature look, which is heavily influenced by graffiti street art and underground hip-hop culture.

Batman lunch boxes are cool, but they suck at keeping a six-pack cold. Enter Burton's Beeracuda ($20, burton.com), which fits five cans in the sling and one in the holder.

Industry

burton

Object

ROLLING ON 20S

Object Price

$999

Object Description

This little rascal is the Cannondale Hooligan 3 ($999, cannondale.com), which features 20-inch wheels, a lefty fork, and an overall lightweight but durable design that is good for hopping curbs and hoisting up

Industry

burton

Object

switch plate

Object Price

$14

Object Description

Do you ever dream of a topless mermaid riding a polar bear? You will now, thanks to Tara McPherson's Art Switch switch plate ($14, theloyalsubjects.com).

Industry

burton

Object

Hokusai's

Object Price

$75

Object Description

Few works of art have inspired as many tattoos as Hokusai's The Great Wave of Kanagawa. The woodblock print also dawned on designer Kozyndan, who created this Uprisings bookend ($75, neatoshop.com) in its image.

Industry

burton

Object

graffiti world

Object Price

$20

Object Description

In the graffiti world, TOYS means "Tag Over Your Shit"—your piece isn't good enough. However, this Tag Your Own Box Truck ($20, tyotoys.com), a blank 8-inch toy truck, is yours to spray and display. Then, if you are feeling frisky, steal your uncle's train set and do a burner.

Industry

burton

Object

watches

Object Price

$139

Object Description

Italian tattoo artist Amanda Toy decked out three watches for Timex 80. Our favorite of her designs is this timepiece with the sweet sugar skulls ($139, timex80. com).

Industry

burton

Object

Lowrider Coloring Book

Object Price

$10

Object Description

With little means and a lot of creativity, the Chicano culture created the lowrider. It took used cars, dropped them, and painted them in vibrant colors. Bring life to dozens of rides in the Lowrider Coloring Book ($10, amazon.com).

Industry

burton

Object

[no value]

Object Price

$19.50

Object Description

This tube of black magic is Morphine Lips ($19.50, morphinelips.com), a lip balm that includes the numbing agent Benzocaine. Kiss someone while wearing it and you'll make your partner tingle.

Industry

burton

Object

JC & Tim chairs

Object Description

There are (at least) two things we won't do: refer to a guy's space as a "man cave" and put Ikea furniture in our guy's space. Instead we have these JC & Tim chairs fashioned out of old street signs (prices upon request, jcandtim.com).

Industry

burton

Object

[no value]

Object Description

Your skateboard is your trusty steed until you snap it on a rail. Artist Alex Trochut and design house Apparatu thought of other ways skateboards could die and made them into ceramic design pieces such as this melted deck for their Skate Fails collection (prices upon request, apparatu.com).

WHO: Greg Goldman SPOTTED AT: Flatiron District, New York City WHERE HE GETS TATTOOED: My favorite ink is the Polynesian-style tattoo on my lower right arm designed by Mony from No Ka Oi Tiki Tattoo in South Philly. His ability to freehand the tattoo on my arm, the tight line work, and the intricate details are sick.

I am one of the dozens who laments Kindles and iPads. I like books; I like their smell; I like how each feels unique in the hand; I like the way they color my apartment when sitting on my shelf. Isaac Bidwell, the editor of Atlas II, feels the same way. He collected the work of 21 artists across 10 countries and hand-bound them in a quaint but impressive volume.

Industry

[no value]

Object

FRIGHT NIGHT

Object Description

Another '80s revamp—this time the comedy-horror vampire cult classic Fright Night. Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) has a new neighbor, charismatic ladies' man Jerry (Colin Farrell). After witnessing some suspicious activity, he realizes Jerry is a vampire. Unable to convince anyone else, Charley has to find a way to get rid of the bloodsucker himself. Colin Farrell is pitch-perfect casting, but Christopher Mintz-Plasse (playing "Evil" Ed) and David Tennant (playing Peter Vincent) have some major shoes to fill.

Industry

[no value]

Object

CONAN THE BARBARIAN

Object Description

Jason Momoa steps into one of the roles that kick-started the career of the Sperminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Starring alongside Momoa are Rachel Nichols (not the ESPN chick), Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, and Ron Perlman. With Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th remakes) behind the lens, this film is going to look very pretty and be heavy with blood and gore. The story is also expected to be more faithful to the mythology and original works of Robert E. Howard. —G.M.

Industry

[no value]

Object

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Object Description

This is a prequel that explores how the monkey madness began. Will Rodman (James Franco) is a scientist whose experiments lead to the intelligence of apes, and Caesar, the lead ape of the film, is played by Andy Serkis via motion capture technology. Weta Digital, the Oscar-winning wizards behind the effects for Avatar and The Lord of The Rings trilogy, are handling the visuals, so we're in for some dazzling effects. Hopefully this reboot will wipe our minds clean of experimental misfire from Tim Burton. —G.M.

Industry

[no value]

Object

NEO-TRADITIONAL TATTOOING WITH LINK BOSSMAN

Object Description

When I was told about The Gnomon Workshop Professional Training for Tattoo Artists DVD series, I figured it was for rubes and noobs, but Tattooing for Dummies it is not. The volumes show advanced technical tips from master tattooists like Nikko Hurtado and Joe Capobianco (on how to do pinup girls, of course). Good instruction doesn't come cheap, though: The DVDs cost $99 a pop. Consider it the price of apprenticing for a couple of hours minus taking out the trash.

Industry

[no value]

Object

NCAA FOOTBALL 12

Object Description

With the pending NFL season facing a fourth and long from a stuffy courtroom, college pigskin will continue to satiate millions of football-starved fans. Thanks to major improvements, such as a momentum-based tackling system, new zone defense logic, and custom playbooks, NCAA 12 takes advantage of its moment under the bright lights. The revamped Road to Glory mode lets you relive your final year of high school to bask in the full recruiting experience, and wannabe Joe Paternos can work their way up from coordinator to head coach in the Dynasty mode's new Coaching Carousel feature. Best of all, you can swap teams and change the name of any conference in the league. First order of business? Getting rid of the ridiculous Big 10 Legends and Leaders division names. Play If You Like: NCAA Football 11, unpaid athletes, no playoff system.

Industry

[no value]

Object

EARTH DEFENSE FORCE: INSECT ARMAGEDDON

Object Description

You've squelched alien invasions, warded off magical evils, and saved the universe from certain destruction. But have you survived Bugmageddon? Rather than ignore its B-movie characteristics, this futuristic shoot-'em-up embraces the camp of its "giant insects overtake Earth" premise. Using a 300weapon arsenal and jet-pack as your extermination kits, you and two other friends must stomp out the insect uprising like heroes in a Mystery Science Theater 3000 flick. Insect Armageddon includes a co-op survival mode that pits your squad against waves of 12-story arachnids and colossal ants. If you feel like blowing shit up and have the stomach for the heavy cheese factor and low production values, EDF is a great guilty pleasure game. Play If You Like: Starship Troopers, Lost Planet 2, Syfy original films. —M.B.

Industry

[no value]

Object

CATHERINE

Object Description

Only Japan creates quirky games like Catherine. Players assume the role of Vincent, a slacker who is being pressured by his longtime girlfriend, Katherine (with a K), to propose. Waking up next to a sultry blonde named Catherine (with a C) after an epic night of boozing and whoring, Vincent becomes unhinged. Players spend the daytime sequences at the Stray Sheep bar, where Vincent struggles with his fear of commitment and act of infidelity by texting friends and chatting up strangers for advice. After dark, he journeys through nightmare sequences (puzzle-like platforms) before he falls into the void. Death in the nightmare spells death in reality, so Vincent doesn't have time to stress about the fact that he's wearing only his underwear during his adventures. Play If You Like: Tekkon Kin kreet, Japanese erotica, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona. —M.B.

Creator

Robert McCormick

Creator

Rocky Rakovic

Creator

Gilbert Macias

Creator

Anja Cadlek

Creator

Matt Bertz

Teaser

The Moskowitz clan colored New York City like no other through tattooing and chasing ne'er-do-wells out of their shops with hammers. During their heyday, which began in the '40s and carried on through the period when tattooing was illegal in Gotham, there was no other family as important to skin art as they were.

RIVAL SONS "Pressure and Time" They are one modern band that can evoke classic Led Zeppelin. PORTUGAL. THE MAN "Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now)" PTM takes their psychedelic sound to dazzling heights. TOUCHÉ AMORÉ "Home Away From Here" Remember that feeling you got the first time you heard At the Drive-In?

Every man should have three things: a sharp utility knife, a favorite football team, and a personal scrub brush. This wooden one ($4, coleparmer.com) does the job, and because it's made of wood, not plastic, it won't be slippery when wet.

Industry

coleparmer

Object

GREASE MONKEY WIPES

Object Price

$5

Object Description

Originally made for cyclists whose legs would catch grease off their bike chains, these wipes ($5 for 30-count canister, greasemonkeywipes.com) are key if you can't fit the greasy part of your body under the sink faucet.

Industry

coleparmer

Object

LAVA BAR

Object Price

$2

Object Description

A favorite of coal miners, oilmen, and gearheads, the Lava Bar ($2, lavasoap.com) has been around since the 1800s and still cleans up nicely. It uses pumice—a by-product of volcanic activity—to exfoliate (a word not used in the 1800s).

Industry

coleparmer

Object

DAWN SOAP

Object Description

For more than 30 years, the good people at Dawn have been donating their product to help clean up animals affected by oil spills. Secret trick: If you are in a bind and need a degreaser, mix granulated sugar with Dawn, and voilà.

Creator

Bob Crenshaw

Teaser

What happened to soap? Your father never washed his hands with a bar that had any of the following ingredients: sandalwood, lilac, lemongrass, even aloe. Hell, your old man has too much testosterone for Softsoap. After a Saturday under the hood of his pickup truck he grabbed his nondescript soap bar and a wire brush before he ate a dinner of red meat.

Yes, Mr. Burns, there is a New Mexico—let tattooist Bale show you around.

Industry

[no value]

Object

[no value]

Creator

[no value]

Teaser

Albuquerque has the 32nd-largest city population in the U.S. and is growing fast. But for INKED, the mark of a city on the move is whether they host a tattoo convention—and sure enough, Albuquerque has one this month. We enlisted Bale of Por Vida Tattoo (2418 Southern Blvd. SE)

Check out this sexy beast. The 328 was one of the slickest things on the road in the 1930s, and in honor of its 75th birthday, the Germans have brought it back to life. The similarities from the first iteration that tour up the racing scene are the kidney-shaped grills and round headlights. The improvements, thanks to a lifetime of engineering advancements between then and now, are found under the hood and in the carbon fiber reinforced plastic shell that makes her light on her feet.

Industry

[no value]

Object

DODGE RAM 1500 EXPRESS

Object Description

There are cat guys and there are dog guys; there are car guys and there are truck guys. Truck guys are fiercely brand-loyal, and we respect them for that. But if we were to suggest a truck, well, we like the Ram 1500 Express. It's got a Hemi (Dodge is selling this V8 truck for about the same sticker price that some competitors are asking for V6 trucks) that churns out 390 horsepower and 407 Ib-ft of torque.

Industry

[no value]

Object

HYUNDAI VELOSTER

Object Description

Allow us to introduce you to the Veloster. This is perfect for a world where gas prices are high and TWD (texting while driving) is the new DUI. It gets 40 miles per gallon on the highway and has Blue Link, which, among myriad other capabilities, allows you to text handsfree. The Veloster looks slick as hell and even has three doors (yes, there's an extra door in back on the passenger side).

Creator

Robert McCormick

Teaser

Your choice of car is like your choice of tattoos. Some guys like the classics (vintage rides, oldschool tattoos), some like bold pieces (flashy cars, intricate work), etc. In every way a car is as much a reflection of your personality as your tattoos are.

The subject of the e-mail was: "Dude's system shreds a phone book!" The body of the e-mail was a YouTube link that played a video of a goateed guy in a flat-brimmed ball cap and sleeves taking you through the sound system he built in a Chevy Tahoe.

Rocket scientists are supposed to be dull. Male. Nerdy. That is not the case with the brilliant Sonia Sanchez, a heavily tattooed systems engineer who works on research and development for satellites at a powerful aerospace firm. Over a vegan feast in Los Angeles, Sanchez, 33, explains that she grew up plucking chickens in rural Connecticut and didn't expect life to lead her into a career in aeronautics.

When word hit INKED's office that there was going to be a NY Ink, speculation on who the tattooers would be chewed up the rest of the working day. Someone would rattle off the name of an artist and that would be answered with something like, "He would be a perfect wise elder," "She's a great artist but too shy for the camera," or "No way would he pass the background check."

I GOT MY FIRST TATTOO IN 1977 WHEN A FELLOW SECOND-GRADER ACCIDENtally stabbed me in the triceps with her pencil. It would be another 12 years before I would purposely mark my skin, yet that small but distinct pencil mole remained visible for many years until I unwittingly covered it up with one of my tattoos.

THE FAST, AGGRESSIVE DRIVING AND DIG THRILLS OF DRIFT racing are what Formula D driver Ryan Tuerck lives for. "I'm attracted to the complete recklessness of drifting," he says. "Operating a car that is completely out of control while driving as close as you possibly can next to a guy trying to do the same thing gets my adrenaline pumping."

For every million struggling actors in the world, there's one guy like Jason Momoa. He never even really dreamed of becoming an actor-until one day there he was, starring on a hit TV show. "It was a dream job that literally fell into my lap," Momoareferring to his big break on Baywateh-recalls with a laugh.

GINGER ANDERSEN IS A NERD ... just not the suspender-wearing, protractor-carrying sort. Still, this month's Inked Girl sees no incongruity between her exterior appearance and her self-proclaimed nerdy personality. Case in point: A straight-A report card was the reason she was allowed to get her first tattoo at 16.

Mike Rubendall is the tattoo artist's tattooer. More than half of his clientele are fellow artists from all over the world who come to "Rube" for his contemporary approach to traditional Japanese tattoo style. Each client, tattooer or not, receives a meticulously researched, dynamic work of art, and that's why they've been making the trip out to Kings Avenue Tattoo in Massapequa, Long Island, NY, where Rubendall was born and raised.

Jose Lopez shouldn't be running some of the most influential tattoo shops in Chicano culture; he shouldn't even be alive. At 15, he was hit by a stray bullet that left him confined to a wheelchair. Since then, he's battled depression and addiction, and he lost his home when the housing bubble burst.

What do you want to accomplish when you pick up the tattoo gun? Have mad fun ... fuckin' party, you know, just chill with my dawgs. Why did you become a tattoo artist? After seeing those tattoo shows on TV I figured it'd be easy money, easy to get girls, and I love the rock star lifestyle!

NAME: Rosario Boga SHOP GIRL AT: Dedicated Tattoo, Temecula, CA WHEN MY FRIEND CALLED ME and told me that the shop was looking for a shop girl, I knew it was my time to shine. I've been to a few tattoo shops here and there, but working at one? What more can you ask for?

We threw our June/July release party at Brian Mazza's Ainsworth with a little help from Sailor Jerry Rum and our friends. Models from the issue came, including Leah Jung (top left) and Cat King (above, left), and we met more girls who should grace the pages of INKED.

Friends, family, and people carrying his art were on hand to congratulate and toast this issue's "Icon" Mike Rubendall on opening his new Kings Avenue shop on New York City's's Bowery. The new space combines the attitude of the old-school Bowery shops of yore with an industrial feel and Rubendall's vibrant aesthetic.

The Black Banditz tattoo shop/music venue/place to play and be seen opened up in grand style on Melrose. To gain entry into the fete, cool folk like Gene Simmons's son Nick and Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole donated to VH-1 Save the Music. Rad!

This wasn't no disco. The pop-punkers Panic! rocked the Rocket City at Houston's House of Blues. Almost all eyes in the joint were on the band but we dug the scene offstage where music and ink lovers threw up their "rock hands" and their tattoos.

"I was into tattoo and graffiti-style art since I was in elementary school," Javier Valadez says. "Being a graffiti artist got me into the habit of writing and drawing on anything and everything. Tattooing intrigued me because it was permanent," he says of his artistic start.